June 23 through 26

The suspension pieces were complete. A chevron suspension was designed to dampen the vibrations from the track.  These pieces were milled and tapped for screws individually. This was an all day event, tapping the holes drilled into each piece. 

Next up was the frame for the bogies. This needed to be drilled to provide holes for the bolts from the chevron blocks and the bearings for the axle. After the holes were drilled, much time was placing the chevron blocks in the correct order. If they were miss aligned, there would not be enough bearing area for the forces to be transferred adding unnecessary stress the the bolts. So, to make this process easier, we flipped the chassis upside down and focused on the placement. 

After the blocks were placed in the right order, I felt we needed to check the alignment of the wheels. So, we found some lasers that were used for another project which were made for alignment. I simply placed them on the wheels to see if they lined up correctly, and luckily they did. They might not have been perfect but the suspension was designed to account for a few mills of misalignment. Then, Ivan wanted to check the suspension, it worked wonderfully. Since the train was now able to roll on the track, we adjusted the air brakes, tested them, and applied them when were were done for the day so it wouldn't roll away.